With the advent of the Internet, it is now the case that personal computers have access to a much larger number and variety of resources (e.g. Web pages) than they currently do today on Local Area Networks. Since GUI desktops are typically designed to give the computer user a set of `entry points` to all of the resources they care about, it is compelling to enhance the GUI desktop so that it can serve entry points to a much wider variety of resources, particularly those found on the World Wide Web.
Prior art GUI desktops have represented such `entry points` with icons, each of which typically fits a strict form factor (e.g., 32.times.32 pixels and a line or two of text). This type of representation does not scale well to the variety of resources on the World Wide Web, since it is limited in size, strict in form factor, and static (unchanging). The invention described here is designed to provide a way for a GUI desktop to more adequately provide `entry points` to Internet resources (primarily, HTML-based Web pages); these `entry points` scale better to Web pages because: a) they can be any size (customizable by user OR by the Web author); b) the representation is not strict, and so, for instance, instead of a static icon the entry point can be used to show a `preview` of the Web pages they point to; and c) the representation is not static but can instead change over time to reflect the changing nature of the resource (e.g. Web page).
In short, it is the intent of the current invention to enhance the GUI desktop by introducing a `new breed` of entry points (or "shortcuts") to Internet resources, as an addition to the icon entry points that exist in prior art desktops.
It is now common for computer operating systems to employ a graphical user interface (GUI) to convey information to, and receive commands from, users. An example of an operating system that provides a graphical user interface is the Windows 95 operating system, produced by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.
The graphical user interface of Windows 95, and other operating systems, is based on a desktop metaphor. More specifically, the GUI creates a graphical environment that simulates working at a desk. The graphical elements displayed on the computer desktop are analogous to objects placed on the top of a user's desk.
The desktop of a GUI is a screen display containing icons representing programs, files, and resources available to the user. The desktop acts as a launching point for running application programs, opening documents or files, and initiating operating system services. In a typical GUI, the desktop always remains as a full screen background display, and all visible windows and icons overlay the desktop as would paper documents and other items on top of an actual desk.
Icons placed on a desktop are static graphic images, and typically represent computer programs, files, or operating system services "Activation" of an icon may cause the operating system to invoke an associated program and optionally an associated file or data set.
Windows in a GUI can typically be resized, moved around the display, and stacked so as to overlay each other. Windows typically have a top-to-bottom order in which they are displayed, with top windows at a particular location on the screen overlaying any other window at the same location.
In recent years there has been a proliferation of computers connected to a global network known as the Internet. A "client" computer connected to the Internet can download digital information from "server" computers connected to the Internet. Client application software executing on client computers typically accept commands from a user and obtain data and services by sending requests to server applications running on server computers connected to the Internet.
Client computers access data on the World Wide Web, often referred to as "the Web." The World Wide Web is an information service on the Internet providing documents and links between documents. The World Wide Web is made up of numerous websites around the world that maintain and distribute Web documents. Web documents may be in one of a number of formats, including the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). An HTML document can contain text, graphics, audio clips, and video clips, as well as metadata or commands providing formatting information. HTML documents also include embedded "links," referred to as "hyperlinks," that reference other data or documents located on the local computer or network server computers. An intranet is a local area network containing at least one Web server and multiple client computers operating in a manner similar to the World Wide Web.
A Web browser is a client application or operating system utility that communicates with server computers using one or more protocols, including the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Web browsers receive Web documents from the network and present them to a user. Internet Explorer, available from Microsoft Corporation, is an example of a popular Web browser.
In addition to data and metadata, HTML documents can contain embedded software components containing program code that perform a wide variety of operations, such as manipulating data, updating the displayed data, and playing audio or video clips. ActiveX is a specification developed by Microsoft Corporation for creating software components that can be embedded into an HTML document.
It is desirable to have a mechanism that allows a user to specify Web "content" from one or more Web pages, to be positioned on the user's desktop. Preferably, the Web content includes both static images and active images, where the active images may include animation, or occasional updates of the displayed content. A preferred mechanism allows a user to set up more than one desktop, and to switch between desktops as desired.